Het PokerStars Mediateam verzorgde weer spelersprofielen en foto’s vande acht finalisten van het EPT Main Event in Londen. Zo weten we precies tegenwelke mannen Ruben Visser het moet opnemen. Er zitten een paar gevaarlijkeklanten tussen, waaronder Steve O’Dwyer, Chris Moorman en Theo Jorgensen.
Seat 1: Mantas “KRAFTY_LT” Visockis, 23, Kaunas, Lithuania –PokerStars player – 1,510,000
Visockis has been playing poker for five years, almostexclusively in online MTTs. Although he was Day 3 overnight chip leader, he hada rocky Day 4 and was very short-stacked until he happily managed twodouble-ups in a row. He said: “It doesn’t matter how it ends now, I’m really happy. I don’tplay many live events and this is my first EPT. I decided to buy in because Iwanted to see how good I am.”
Online, Visockis has already notched up nearly$600,000 in online winnings on PokerStars, including $184,476 for a runner-upfinish in the Sunday Million just before Christmas. Visockis is a regular inlocal tournaments in Lithuania and well-respected in the country’s thrivingpoker community.
Seat 2: Olof Haglund, 26, Karlstad, Sweden -2,755,000
Olof Haglund has been playing online poker fulltime since 2006 when he resigned from his job as a paperboy. He specializes inonline mid-stakes heads-up cash games and seldom plays anything else. Pokertakes up most of his time but he also tries to find time to travel and playgolf. Haglund doesn’t hang out much with the Swedish poker fraternity butinstead travels with a small group of friends from the UK and Finland.
Haglund hasn’t played many live events but likes totake part in major stops from time to time, including EPTs and the World Seriesof Poker. This is his first EPT main event cash, but he won an EPT side eventin 2011, taking down the €3,000 NL event (against a FOUR-strong field). That€11,400 prize was his biggest live cash before this week at EPT London.
Seat 3: Ruben Visser, 24, Rotterdam, Netherlands –PokerStars qualifier – 3,640,000
Visser took up online poker while studying businessand marketing at college. He is still at college but now combines studying fora Masters in “Entrepreneurship and New Business Venturing” with playing poker.
His first live cash came in 2008 when he made thefinal of a €500 event in Prague. At the time, his online career was alsohotting up and results included a win in the PokerStars Sunday Warm-up eventfor $113,000. In 2009, Visser finished 20th in a PCA side eventand that June he finished 11th in the WPT Barcelona main event, before winninga €400 side event a few days later.
His biggest live result so far was runner-up in a€5,000k side event during the Season 6 EPT Grand Final, worth €171,450 – but awin here at EPT London would instantly take him from 12th to fourth place inthe Dutch All Time Money List. Visser was also runner-up in the EPT DeauvilleHigh Roller last season for €152,000, and 44th in the 2011 WSOP Main Event for$196,174. His only EPT final table came last season at the PCA when he finishedeighth for $156,400.
Only four days ago he finished eighth in the EPTLondon £2,000 NL Turbo and won a Master Classics side event last November. Visserwon his seat to EPT London in a £320 Deep Hyper-Turbo qualifier on PokerStars.
Seat 4: Steve O’Dwyer, 30, Pennsylvania, USA -5,270,000
American Steve O’Dwyer is about to sit down at histhird EPT Main Event final table – and his second in a row at EPT London. As heput it, he’s “three for three in Main Event final tables!”
O’Dwyer’s first big score was in 2009 when he camesixth in the Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic for more than$200,000, but it was 2011 when the communications graduate had his breakthroughyear. O’Dwyer won nearly $1.5 million in 2011 and the following year snagged afurther $880,000, tearing through EPT Season 8 with a fifth place in the EPTBarcelona €10,000 High Roller, runner-up at EPT London for £465,000, and seventhat EPT Copenhagen for DKr 290,000.
However, despite a seventh place finish at WSOP-Ein Cannes last October, worth another £130,000, O’Dwyer says that, poker-wise,the last eight months have “sucked”. He said: “I’ve been having a nice time but poker-wise,it’s not gone well so this is a nice change of pace.” O’Dwyer hails from theStates originally, but now lives in Ireland so he can play online.
Seat 5: Chris Moorman, 27, from Benfleet, Essex -1,075,000
British online tournament legend Chris Moorman haswon it all online, clocking up more than $9m in tournament winnings. While he’sbeen no slouch in live tournaments either picking up $2,707,836 in cashes hehas yet to pick up a major trophy. He’s come close with runner-up spots in theEPT Berlin High Roller (€145,200), WSOPE Main Event (€800,000) and WSOPSix-Handed Championship ($716,282). He did finally managed to score a live winat EPT Madrid last season when he took down the €2,000 NL Turbo Bounty for€21,050, – but that first big live title could at last arrive tomorrow.
“It would mean everything to me,” said Moorman.“This is bigger than the Grand Final because it’s in London and all my friendswould come down and rail. I’d love to put a show on for them and win it. Comingso close so many times just makes you more and more hungry.”
Seat 6: Theo Jorgensen, 41, Greve, Denmark – TeamPokerStars Pro – 1,550,000
Team PokerStars Pro Jorgensen has become a regularfeature on the European Poker Tour and is one of the most popular players. TheDane has yet to win an EPT title, but doing so would earn him poker’s TripleCrown – he has already won a WSOP Europe event and WPT Paris (a tournament henearly won a second time in 2012 when he finished second).
Jorgensen’s appearance at EPT London marks hiscomeback to the poker world following a horrific experience when he was shot inthe leg by intruders at his home in December. Having received successfultreatment, Jorgensen has made an immediate return to form, and despite holdingone of the shorter stacks, must remain one of the favourites.
EPT London will be his third final table on thetour, following EPT Deauville in Season 2 and Copenhagen in Season 4. Hislifetime live tournament winnings already total more than $3.2 million and heis ranked third in the Danish All Time Money List.
Seat 7: Tamer Kamel, 28, Willesden, London, UK -960,000
Kamel is certainly the most local player at the EPTLondon final table – he lives only 15 minutes away in Willesden. He is aregular at the Vic, having played here ever since taking up pokerthree-and-a-half years ago and will be hoping to emulate the success of anotherVic regular, Vicky Coren, who won EPT London in Season 3.
Kamel, who runs his family’s Icco Pizzeria inGoodge Street, plays both online and live. His best live result was sixth placein a GUKPT event at the Vic in 2011. Online it was $15,000 in a $109 rebuyevent.
This is Kamel’s third EPT but first time in themoney – he was out first day at EPT London last year and in Prague lastDecember. He is getting married at the end of this year but unfortunatelyfiancee Lucy won’t be here to support him tomorrow – she flew off to Sevillethis morning to see her best friend.
Seat 8: Christopher Frank, Germany, PokerStarsqualifier – 2,570,000 chips
Not much was known about Christopher Frank prior tohis appearance at EPT London, but the 18-year-old has made sure he’ll leave alasting impression. Frank is playing his second EPT event after narrowlymissing the money at the PCA in January, where he also won a side event. Nowhe’s poised to record the biggest cash of his career.
It makes Frank, who qualified on PokerStars, somethingof a fast learner, who has already notched up results live and online in thespace of a few months. As for EPT London, it’s been quite a trip. “It’s a sickexperience,” he said. “So deep and it takes such a long time. It’s nice to havechips but its super hard work.”
Should Frank win, he will become the secondyoungest EPT winner, behind Mike McDonald who won Dortmund in Season 4, agedseveral months younger than Frank is now.
